


Fangirl x Hunters

by DeathGlobalZone



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Body Horror, Death, Depression, Gen, Murder, Mutilation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychosis, Seeing Dead People, Talking To Dead People, Violence, a whole cast of original characters to fuck shit up, disfigurment, fucking up canon plot lines, general mental illnesses, i can't wait, i know i am, let see how fucked up my mentality is- the game, lol are y'all ready for a really indulgent self-insert?, this'll probably actually be serious ngl, yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-02-22 23:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13177158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathGlobalZone/pseuds/DeathGlobalZone
Summary: There are many things girls can expect- catcalls, sexualization, just wanting to have fun, signing their life away to fandoms, stuff like that. What they don't expect is some inter-dimensional bullshit.





	1. Chapter One: What the Fuck (tm)

**XxXxXx Fangirl x Hunters xXxXxX**

“What the fuck. What the _actual_ fuck.”

The words from the young woman’s mouth just about summed up the entire situation.

“How does this even happen?” asks the second. She had long, long shiny straight light-brown hair that went down to her hips, with two small braids running through it and a large cream bow at the back of her head where the braid finished, and had blue eyes, and freckles. She was fairly tall, and wore a cute light blue sweater with a pale cream kitten on it and a flowy pink skirt hemmed with icy blue lace underneath, as well as a pair of tights with pale pink cat silhouettes and a pair of tan leather boots that went to her knees. As jewelry, there was a pink glass heart dangling from a thin silver chain, a matching pair of earrings, and a silver purity ring on her wedding finger.

“Gee, I don’t know Meray, let me whip out my crystal ball real fast and ask the great-fucking-beyond.” This one was taller, with a fluffy mess of green hair with blue and purple streaks that went to her shoulders in waves topped off with a dark gray beanie, brown eyes surrounded by thick black winged eyeliner behind a cute pair of periwinkle purple frames. She wore a black off the shoulder crop top with a big white skull on the front, baggy high-waisted pale-wash jeans riddled with large and small holes through which you could see bright purple tight, tucked into tall black leather boots. Her neck was adorned with a thick black choker and a dark purple glass heart necklace and matching earrings, with a silver flower ring with a small amethyst gem on her own wedding finger.

“It was a rhetorical question, no need to get testy, Witch Bitch.”

“Whatever, furball.”

“Skeleton fucker.”

With that, the two friends lapse into silence, still in shock as to what had happened. One minute, the two girls are dicking around in Riley’s room, re-watching Hunter x Hunter while getting ready to go see a movie and get snacks. The next, they’re in front of the Hunters Association Headquarters.

_Which wasn’t supposed to actually exist._

Sighing, Riley rubs her cheeks and groans. “This isn’t how I pictured our last sleepover before you went off to college going.”

“At least its an adventure?” Meray says, trying to stay upbeat, though still horribly confused.

“You can say that again.” She turns away from the shiny white building and tugs on a lock of her hair, wiggling her fingers to get rid of the strands that came out. “Why don’t we-“

“Riley- Riley, there’s something on your back-“Meray interrupts, horror and laughter in equal measures creeping into her voice.

“Huh? What’s one my back?” the green-haired girls turns and twists, trying to see what was there.

“There’s a shitty mascot on your back-“

“What the fuck does that even mean- JESUS CHRIST-“Riley yelps.

Crawling up the girls back was a spider, but not just any spider; it was dark gray and had four glistening, bright pink eyes, but more importantly, it was as big as a motherfucker. Its abdomen was as big (if not bigger) as two balled fists, had eight long and hairy legs, and thick mandibles the size of hawk talons.

“Get it off, get it off, oh sweet fuck, _get it off of me_ -“

Meray is absolutely no help, giggling, obviously seeing something her friend didn’t.

“I swear to god, babe, if you don’t- oh my shit why is it cuddling me-“ At this point, Riley was hyperventilating and close to tears as the beast huddled under her hair and rubbed up against her neck, clicking its mandibles.

“I- I think it likes you!~” the brunette is now full-on laughing, holding her gut while her friend is terrorized.

_“Why are you laughing you bitch?!”_

Her friend can’t answer as her joyful hysterics reach a new peak. The terror crawled down to Riley’s chest and settled there, reaching its forelegs toward her face.

“O-okay… Good spider… d-do-don’t eat my face… Wait…”

Taking a closer look at the huge arachnid, and its pink eyes and fluffy body, the girl’s mind quickly made several connections.

_“Krollo?!”_

The tarantula made a slight hissing noise, and booped his owners’ nose with a foot. Though still scared and confused, Riley managed to crack a smile.

“How the fuck did this even happen? Weren’t you just a plushie I bought?”

“Gee, Riley, why don’t you grab your crystal ball and-“

“It was a rhetorical question, you furry fuck.”

“How did he even get here, anyways? Like, I understand your bag,” Meray gestures to the homemade patchwork bag that hung from Riley’s shoulder,” You were holding that, but you weren’t holding him, were you?”

“Ehehehe, well… I wanted to take him to the movies too, so I put him in the bag…”

“Riley, I swear to fucking god-“

“Leave me and my overly-empathetic nature alone.” With that, she plucks Krollo off her chest and sets him on her head, where he sort of blended in with her hat. The spider seems content and snuggles down against it, clicking his mandibles happily. “Besides, I now have a totally bad-ass pet and you don’t, so suck it.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do now?” Meray asks, but not rhetorically this time. She knows Riley is full of violent, half-joking solutions to just about everything.

“Mug people until we have enough money to rent an apartment.”

“Sounds good to me, do you know anything about mugging?”

“Uh… you gotta punch ‘em. Punch ‘em real good.”

With that, the mismatched duo went out to start an adventure that they, in absolutely no way, thought would ever _actually_ happen. I mean, what is this, a fanfiction?

**XxXxXxXxX**

“Crap!”

It’s been three days, and Riley and Meray weren’t having the best of luck mugging people, so they tried pick-pocketing instead.

“Get back here, you little bitch!”

It worked out about as well as can be expected.

“I am in no way little!” Riley protests as she whips around a corner, jumping up onto a rusty fire escape landing to hide from the pissed off man. She quietly scooches back as far as she can and waits. Her ears detect him thundering past, and then counts to fifty. Hopping back down to the pavement, Riley weaves herself through the crowds of an outdoor market, sometimes taking some food to join all of the wallets in her bag as she made her way back to the meeting point.

However, something shiny catches her eye.

At a beauty vendor, there was a lovely bottle of perfume that smelled like a heavenly garden, and oh was she a slut for scents. The glass bottle was encrusted with jewels, but not in a gaudy way, and they caught the light beautifully upon the delicate curves. Riley couldn’t tell if the bottles’ shape was supposed to represent something like a person, but it didn’t matter.

She wanted it, and wanted it _badly_.

Looking at the price, she isn’t surprised that it was expensive. The sign boasted that it was the only of its kind, crafted by this or that artisan, but Riley didn’t care if it was unique. All the teenager saw was an opportunity to get money for a house. If she could pry the gems from the bottle and sell them, there was no doubt she could make a small fortune, and she could probably even sell the bottle after the perfume was gone! The owner of the booth was busy with another customer, so she took the bottle as well and slide it underneath a loaf of bread. Krollo clicked at her from atop the mound of stolen goods as she made a swift escape, and agreed. She has taken enough today.

Riley sits crisscross on the lip of the fountain, idly doodling in her sketchbook while waiting for Meray to arrive. So concentrated is she in her doodling, she manages to ignore when a tall muscular man sits next to her. For about three minutes until her arm bumps his.

“Oh, sorry about that!” Riley sends an apologetic smile his way, and in response he grunts. “So, are you just passing through, or are you a local?”

“Just passing through.”

“Huh,” she lets out a huff of air before closing her sketchbook and turning to face him, _‘Holy mother of… its Phinks. I… what… this sure is one hell of a coincidence.’_

“So… what’s up?”

“What?”

“I mean… why’d you sit next to me,” the teenager gestures to the surprisingly empty courtyard. “There’s plenty of other spots, since there’s no one else actually here.”

With that, Phinks’ face lit up in a blush. “Well-“

“Actually, it’s the shade, isn’t it?” the girl answers her own question. “This is the shadiest spot around, so I’m sorry about the whole questioning you thing.” Riley turns back around, but feels how awkward and oppressing the air is. She opens her mouth to say something, anything-

“Are you waiting for someone?” he asks, suddenly.

Blinking with a nod is her answer. “Yeah, actually; I’m waiting for my friend. What about you?”

Phinks nods, and the awkward, oppressing atmosphere returns.

“Riley.” She introduces.

“Phinks.”

 _‘Ugh… this is terrible. I hate this. I’m not a people person. What am I even supposed to say?_ ‘Hey, I’m a big fan and I’ve admired you for years.’ _Yeah, that’d get me killed._ ’ She moans to herself, wishing for anything to get her out of this situation.

“Hey!”

It’s Meray, thank the gods. Riley offers a quick ‘see you later’ even though she really, really wishes to not actually see him later.

“So, was that-?” Meray begins, whispering.

“No, no, not now, shut up.” Riley breathes harshly, walking as fast as she can to get away. “I just want to forget this ever happened.”

Phinks watches the two girls walk away, frowning. Did that girl, Riley, recognize him or something? He saw her stealing earlier, saw the raptured look on her face at the sight of that perfume bottle and the ease she had picking pockets, almost as though she’d been stealing for years. The blondes eyes idly traveled down from her technicolor hair to her back to her behind.

”Did you get her number?” asks Feitan as he plops down beside his fellow Troupe member.

Phinks responds with a shove that send the cackling man to the ground.

**XxXxXxXxX**

“So I found an apartment that’s fairly cheap.” Meray says over lunch, taking a large bite of her Panini.

“Really? Radical. How much is the rent?” Riley replies after sipping at her iced peach tea.

“Like, sixty five-thousand Jenny, which is about six hundred and fifty dollars.”

“Holy crap, that’s a whole lot cheaper than living in America.”

“I know, right? Come on.”

The two friends finish eating and pay the bill, leaving the cute café they’d frequented over the past few days. Taking the others hand, Meray leads the way to the apartment complex that was fairly close to the edge of town.

The building itself wasn’t in the best repair, but it didn’t look terrible- in fact, it actually looked rather charming. It was five or six stories tall and the length of the entire street, with white painted walls chipped to show red bricks underneath, with all sorts of plant life growing up the sides.

“Well, don’t you two look a fright,” an older woman sitting behind the front desk remarks, not unkindly. “Oh, are you two here for that two-bedroom apartment? I recognize the long haired one.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, why don’t you two go ahead and sit in the office through that doorway, and I’ll go get the paperwork.”

“Wait, how much money do we have?” Riley whispers to Meray.

“Fuck.”

Sitting down, they quickly go through all the wallets they’d accumulated and counted only the bills, not bothering with any of the coins.

“Okay, I have… just over ninety-thousand, what about you?” Meray mutters, hands full of the bills.

“Uh, hold up just a sec… almost one hundred-thousand.”

“Ok, so one hundred eighty thousand-“

“Wait, why eighty?”

“So we don’t go over budget, not shut up so I can figure it out…. It’s one hundred thirty thousand to pay for two months, so we’ll have fifty thousand leftover for groceries and stuff.”

Before they could talk any more, the woman shuffles on in with a few manila folders and sits on the other side of the desk. Perching a pair of spectacles on her nose, she introduces herself.

“My name is Haruhi Shirogane, and I own this apartment complex. Now, may I see some ID’s? I’ll need it for the records.”

“We… we don’t have any ID, ma’am.” Riley responds bashfully.

“Nothing? No birth certificates or passports?”

“No, ma’am.”

When Mrs. Shirogane looked suspicious, Riley called upon her years of theatre training to come up with a believable lie. Hopefully.

“Well, ma’am… When we were children, we were kidnapped and sold on the black market.” Her voice trembled as she looked down, balling her hands in her lap. “We were bounced around from person to person… some, some were kind, most… not so much.” Riley forces tears into her eyes when looking up at the proprietor. “We were ripped away from our families so young, we don’t even know our last names! All I can remember is the scent of my mothers perfume… rose…”

When Meray catches on, she joins in on the lie. “Only a few months ago we were able to escape. We stole some money from him and…we’ve been on the run ever since.”

“Please, miss, we have nothing! We’ve never even had a home, and we just want to make a fresh start!” Riley collapses into tears, hands covering her face as she trembles.

“Have a home, jobs, friends… why not start here?” Meray wraps an arm around her friend and looks pleading at the woman. “Please. We have enough money to pay for two months, please let us stay here.”

Fortunately for the girls, Mrs. Shirogane had a soft heart. “Of course you can stay here. And if this makes you feel better, no men are allowed on the premises- I know women can be just as cruel as men, but I thought the information might help. Why don’t I show you to the apartment and you can rest for a few hours and shower and get settled, and we can figure out the paperwork tonight?”

Since Riley was still sniffling, Meray takes over. “Really? Thank you, thank you so much Mrs. Shirogane!”

“It’s no trouble, girls. Utilities are included in the price, so you have a washer and dryer in case you want to wash your clothes.” The woman smiles gently.

“Yes ma’am, thank you!”

After being shown the apartment, the girls thank her one more time and enter their new home. Riley breathes in heavily through her nose and wipes her eyes one more time before giving a smile to her best friend. “Now, that wasn’t too hard, was it?”

“Yeah, that was a really good story that you came up with, and on the spot too!”

“Thank you, thank you,” Riley takes an over-dramatic bow.

They then explore the apartment; it wasn’t too small. The two bedrooms were already furnished with beds and bedside tables, and weren’t very big, but they had a connecting bathroom and small walk-in closets. The living room and kitchen were one room, and already a TV was placed on a squat cabinet. Riley and Meray high-five and give each other big hugs.

“We did it!”

**XxXxXxXxXxX**


	2. Chapter Two: the Dark and the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley and Meray (and Krollo) were settling in well. Meray worries, Riley dissociates, and they both panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some graphic gore and some sexual assault in this chapter. Read carefully my dudes

**XxXxXxX**

 “Riley, we don’t need any more cheese-“

 “Fuck you, we need all the cheese-“

 “Aren’t you lactose intolerant?”

 “That won’t stop me from enjoying my goddamn brie.”

 It had been about three months since they’d entered the Hunter x Hunter world, and about two and a half months since they started living at their apartment. Miraculously, they’d both been able to find jobs; with Mrs. Shirogane’s help and a few more tears, Meray had landed a waitressing gig at a café and Riley now worked at a bookshop-bakery… Basically, it was a Half-Price Books or Barnes and Noble.

 As for Krollo, they’d found him a 240-gallon tank that was in remarkably good condition at a second-hand shop for not too much. Unsure if he was a burrower or a climber since he didn’t even have an actual species, given he was bigger even than the Goliath Bird-Eaters (and spiders don’t generally tend to have hot pink eyes), there was a thick layer of sphagnum moss to dig into and some branches for him to climb on, and a few hollow logs as hides.

 He seemed to really enjoy cockroaches and crickets, so now both Riley and Meray kept a few jars on them in case they saw any during the day (the local pet shop didn’t keep things for pet tarantulas, unfortunately). Riley was especially zealous in taking care of Krollo, and had so far acquired quite a few nasty bruises jumping for the insects, one time even falling into a fountain in pursuit of an especially big cricket.

 Currently, however, they were grocery shopping for the week.

 “Why are you getting sour cream?”

 “It’s for beef stroganoff later. I think we have almost everything…” She consults the slip of paper in her hands. “Oh! Can you grab some milk, eggs, and unground beef? I’ll go get some onions, egg noodles, and bread, then we can check out. “

 “Alright!” With her plastic basket filled with snacks, Meray heads off deeper into the refrigerated section of the store. Riley turns and heads off to the produce section, grabbing the noodles and bread on the way.

 However, the makeup section shone like a beacon, calling her name ever so sweetly. “It’s no harm if I just look, right?” she reasons, pushing her bangs back from her face. A few hesitant steps towards it and she shakes her head, instead turning to go to the vegetables. Riley carefully inspects the onions and is reminded of her family.

 From onions.

 Making caramelized onions with her older sister to put on Paninis, eating an entire raw onion on a dare, non-stop Shrek jokes- oh gods the colorful-haired girl missed her family so much. She thought of her dad, trying to find another big client after his last one dropped him, of her step-mom who was working on senior portraits, and two older sisters that lived at home, both working towards moving out. A step-sister was expecting with her fiancé while the other was working on an engineering degree. Were they okay? Were they still searching for her? Riley thought of her girlfriend- ex girlfriend. They’d broken up the day before Riley and Meray went dimension hopping.

 She was heart-broken, of course. And angry, so angry so could _strangle-_

 Riley shakes her head and places the onions in a plastic bag, weighing them, and slapping the sticker on the bag. To make herself feel better, she heads back into the makeup section. Eyeliner, mascara, anything she could hide in her sleeves and purse. Material items made her feel a little less empty- she couldn’t afford to see a therapist, much less buy her medication.

 “I could go for a smoke,” she mumbles to herself, waiting for Meray to show up. After another minute or two of waiting, she decides to get in the longest line to give her friend more time to get there.

 

 With no more room in her basket, and two more things to grab, Meray was in a bit of a pickle. She had the unground beef, but how was she supposed to carry the eggs and milk when she needed both hands to carry the basket? With a sigh, she kneels down out of the way to play a game of grownup Tetris. With some deft rearrangements, puzzle solving skills honed by years of playing the Portal games and Skyrim and that strange period of her life where she was part of the rubix cube club at her school, she made room for the eggs (it was the perfect fit), and managed to precariously balance the milk carton on top after her trip to the dairy section.

 On her way to the register, the brown haired young woman caught sight of some instant noodle cups, the same as the kind her dad used to buy. On a whim, she picks up two spicy shrimp cups, for old times sake.

 

 Time was up, Riley was next in line. She unloaded her basket of bread and noodles and cheese and everything else. She eyes the wall of cigarettes and liquor behind the counter, and then to the cashier. Everyone always told her she looked like she was in her twenties, time to put that to the test…

 “Hey, excuse me? Could you also ring up two packs of menthols, a bottle of vodka and a bottle of root beer schnapps for me please?” Riley smiles prettily, leaning forward on the counter to give the guy a peak down her shirt. She looks at him over her glasses and through her eyelashes, trying to look coy, winning, ten years older than she actually was. The guy blushed slightly and nodded, turning around to grab the items she requested. _‘He looks pretty young,’_ the seventeen year old muses to herself, picking up a lighter and slipping it into her waistband. _‘He’s probably around my age, maybe a little bit younger.’_

 “That’ll be a total of five-hundred sixty-eight jenny and fifty three cents, ma’am.”

 “Thanks, boo,” she responds, pulling five seventy out. “Here you go, keep the change! Have a good day!” Riley grabs her bags and flashes another smile at the cashier, keeping an eye out for her friend.

 “Hey, did you already pay?” the brunette greets, seeing the bags in her hands.

 “Yeah. I’ll wait for you outside. Did you bring your wallet?”

 “No…” Meray moans.

 Rolling her eyes theatrically, Riley fishes her wallet back out of her purse and hands it off. “Here. I have like, another thousand or so jenny in there, so that should be enough.”

 “Okay, cool. I’ll pay you back when we get home, okay?” Meray hugs her friend and scampers off to get in line. Riley exits the overly air conditioned grocery store and leans against the wall close to the door. Setting the bags on the ground, she pulls out a pack of menthols and lights up. Quietly, she puffed way at the cigarette, looking out at the pedestrians on the street. The trails they left behind them stayed, some bright, some dark, but they always took a while to fade completely.

 Some of them had ghosts trailing after them, dead relatives or friends that just refused to let go. Riley had grown used to them again, she had to. Her meds were left back in her home dimension. Her hallucinations, or her sight into the afterlife, whatever it was, seemed stronger here for some reason. She’d talked it over with Meray, and their hypothesis was the presence of Nen that was causing it, though it came with the downside of her anxiety becoming worse. Now, she carried a bottle of lavender essential oil around with her everywhere to help with it as well, just in case.

 A swell in the whispers that she normally kept as background noise made her snap back into focus. It felt like a shadow had fallen over the street and the teenager was the only one to notice. Eyes following the invisible shade to its source, Riley saw Phinks again, and Feitan, and there was Omokage. Something clicked in her head, and she exhaled loudly.

 “Jesus fucking Christ.”

 The Kurta Massacre might not have happened yet.

 She finished the cigarette, and lit up another. Why was Meray taking so long? Was the line that long? They needed to get out, get back to the apartment, and talk about what the hell they were supposed to do now. It was at least two years before the pilot episode, but it might even be more than that. She’d need to ask around- of course, no one who was still breathing; the dead seemed eager to share what they knew with her, probably because she was one of the few that could see and hear them-

Abruptly, the girl was brought out of her racing, spiraling thoughts and off the brink of an anxiety attack by the gentle whispers she’d been hearing as long as she could remember.

  _He’s looking._

 As the whispers said, Phinks was indeed looking her way. Riley pretended not to recognize him or even see him; it’d been decided that getting involved with the Phantom Troupe was the absolute worst fucking idea. No matter how tempting it was, purposely fucking with the timeline was completely off limits.

 The goth girl forced herself back into a daydream about… Naruto? Yeah, one of her last daydreams had to do with Naruto, so she started going back down the rabbit hole of creating a new character. Her brow creased in thought, at what point would this new character be injected? Perhaps at the very beginning…Sakura’s sister? Sure, why not. Just as Riley began going through her mental list of Japanese names having to do with flowers to find something suitable, she barely registers a body slump against the wall next to her.

 “Hey.” A deeply masculine voice sounded from next to her.

 It took Riley a long moment, but she turned her head to nail the man with a flat stare.

 “What the fuck do you want, Ryu?” the teen glares at her unwanted companion, flicking ash off the end of her cigarette. If anything, she expected another awkward conversation with Phinks, not… this. She’s just found a good name, too, and now she couldn’t think of it. Dammit! The irritating regular at her job looked vaguely perturbed and rather amused at this, and Riley’s dark-painted lips turned into a frown. “What?”

 “You just looked-“

 “I looked _what_ exactly? Lonely? Bored?”

 “Like my next girlfriend~. Let’s go on a date.” The dude had an annoying smirk on his face.

 Riley scowled at the brunet man, growing angry. She literally was _not_ in the mood for this, she just wanted to go home and probably cry or something. The whispers were growing louder and louder, something about an eye stealer? Was it about Omokage? She shook her head and took another drag, there was too much going on-.

 “So you want to date a goth piece of shit?”

 “If that's what you are, honey~.”

  _Their eyes, their eyes-_

 She tilted her head and thought of her options, mind wandering to the abandoned hospital she frequented. “No.”

 “No?”

 “I don’t want to date you. Or touch you. Or talk to you, or look at you. It’s creepy how you watch me at work and I really don’t appreciate it. Also, could you back up? You’re too close.”

 Large hands closed over Riley’s wrists and she could feel her bones clack together. “Ow, what the hell are you doing?”

 “Thing is, doll, you don’t get to say no.” His lips peel back to reveal too-perfect teeth, brown eyes glinting sickly. The girl felt a chill of fear seep into her from the cool brick wall, and why were people just passing by? Didn’t they notice, why weren’t they helping?

“No, no, no, nonononono-”

_Massacre, one survivor-_

 Riley needed to think, breathe, she was beginning to hyperventilate-

_They stole our eyes, HE STOLE OUR EYES-_

Everything was so loud, too loud, couldn’t anyone else hear the screaming?

 “L-let me go, let me go…” she mutters like a mantra. Her terror and anger built up inside her, boiling and wanting to get out. Months of rage and sadness with no outlet burned her insides.

 “ ** _LET ME GO!”_** Riley’s aura exploded, and her harasser dropped to the ground in a dead faint. She sinks down to the ground and begins stroking her socks, focusing on the grain and feel of them as she gets her breath back under control.

  _‘In, two, three… out, two, three…’_

 “Riley? Riley, what wrong?” Meray was beside her, a foot away ( _‘Too close, she’s too close, everyone is too close-‘_ ) on her knees. Riley mutely shook her head, feeling drained, and shakily stood up from the concrete.

 “N-n-not here…” she stutters, grabbing her grocery bags.

 “Okay, okay, let’s get you home and a glass of water…” The brunette says soothingly, sticking close to her trembling friend. “I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder, okay?” After receiving a nod of acquiescence, her hand gently lands on her friends’ broad shoulder and rubs it gently. They start their walk back to the apartment, Riley keeping her eyes on the ground as she counted cracks in the pavement. So engrossed she was in grounding herself, she accidentally walked into someone. Dark brown eyes glance quickly up at him and into his irritated face and utter a quiet apology.

 “Sorry about that, Phi- dude.”

 Teal eyes glare down at her, and the screaming reaches a crescendo.

  _HE’S THE ONE WHO STOLE OUR EYES._

 Involuntarily, Riley’s eyes begin to water as spirits grasping at her clothes, pinching her skin, pulling her hair and demanding to be heard, to be answered. Brown- no, not brown, scarlet, scarlet eyes glared at her from beyond the veil. They demanded action, revenge, they demanded that the mermaid-haired girl _do something._ But she was frozen, a deer in headlights, watching her own impending death-

_‘I can’t, I can’t I need to get home-‘_

 “What are you staring at, girl?” his voice like a whip and strange eyes staring into her own unremarkable ones.

 Meray was gently tugging on her elbow, making apologies and excuses that bled into the background noise. The world had stopped and faded away, it was just her and her voices versus this ice-block of a man and his eyes. The longer she stared, the more Riley felt like she was swirling down the drain-

 “Riley!” a sharp voice and even sharper pinch to the delicate skin on her hand bring her back to reality. She blinks and manages to plaster a small smile on her face.

 “Your eyes.” She murmurs, hoping that by keeping her voice quiet she’d be able to mask its trembling- the effect was monotone. “I’ve never seen a pair with that color before. Makes me want to pluck them from your head and keep them in a jar above my bed.”

 “Riley, what the actual fuck-“Meray whispers as they continue walking, both oblivious to the eyes watching them retreat.

 “They’re gone.” Riley states frankly, emptily, a little too loudly for public. “The Kurta Clan is dead.”

 “H-how do you-“

 “How else?” Riley still had that blithe smile on her face, her hollow voice echoing within her hollow throat. “They told me.”

 

 Meray watched her friend out of the corner of her eye as she cut up an onion for dinner. The brunette was worried, she really had every right to be, Riley was in a lot of pain and some of the things she knew didn’t make sense. Like, Meray believed in the afterlife and everything, but to be completely honest having her best friend be able to cross that sacred threshold without trying was disconcerting, and she worried that some of the spirits Riley talked to didn’t have her best interests at heart. Admittedly, talking to the dead had been incredibly useful to them, as they were able to start learning Nen, but…

 “Hey, are you done with that onion? It’s about time to start cooking it.”

 “Yeah, yeah…” Meray says, dumping the chopped bits into the frying pan from which the smell of melted butter oozed through the apartment. She then leaned back against a counter and watched the goth girl move about the kitchen with robotic grace. She could tell that the other was just going through the motions, probably dissociating from the afternoons events. Yes, they were able to learn Nen, but Riley had been taking anti-depressants for a reason and to just stop cold turkey like that probably wasn’t good. She knew her friend wasn’t getting enough sleep, she saw the bags that hung like mourning curtains beneath her eyes when she wasn’t wearing makeup. Often on her days off, Riley would sleep for near twenty-four hours, wake up to eat, then fall asleep again for another four or five before going back to work. It was either that or disappear off to that hospital to practice on her unwilling patients, where she’d stay night and day and barely make it back to shower then go to work with damp hair and wickedly flicked eyeliner. Actually, it was mainly the latter scenario.

 Meray sighs quietly and goes about preparing the sandwiches to be grilled, putting on condiments and then layering up the cheeses and meats. On a separate frying pan, she begins to heat the food. When the multitude of cheeses had thoroughly melted, the caramelized onions were added and they sat down in front of the TV to eat.

 “Hey, the Magic School Bus is on!” Riley says in excitement, throwing her legs over Merays’ lap, cramming a bite of Panini into her mouth with one hand while using the other to turn the TV on with the remote. They sit in relative silence as they learn about bees and pollination.

 “Are you going back to the hospital tonight?” Meray asks quietly, setting her plate down on the floor. Pale blue eyes look into dark brown, heavily circled in black kohl and mascara.

 “Yeah,” Riley responds, picking up the plates and taking them to the kitchen to wash. “I’m getting really close, I’ve almost perfected my techniques; honestly, I can’t wait to be done with it.” She sets them on the drying rack and starts scrubbing the other things used to make dinner, hands damn near immune to the steaming water. “I think tonight will be my last- knock on wood.” A soapy hand reaches out to knock on the old wooden cabinet doors.

 “God, I hope so.” Meray answers, hopping up to sit on the counter. “The longer this goes on, the more likely you are to get caught.”

 “Oh yeah, I forgot I was breaking the law,” Riley lets out a guffaw, draining the sink and rinsing it out as well. “At least it’s all people the world is better off without.” Child molesters, rapists, abusers, none of them were safe from the teen. What about murderers and thieves, you may ask? Well, she wasn’t a hypocrite. “Would you like to come with me tonight?”

 “Nah,” Meray swings her legs a bit. “I have opening shift tomorrow and its getting dark already.”

 “You right.”

 Riley goes around and tugs on her shoes and a jean jacket. She makes sure she has what she needs in her prepacked bag, and checks on Krollo to see if his skin had finished hardening after his latest molt about a week before hand.

 “Hello my little darling!” Riley coos as the rather large arachnid scuttles up to her arm. “How’s mommy’s precious boy? Do you wanna come with mommy to the hospital?” He climbs up her arm and settles on her shoulder, two forelegs messing with the long side bangs that framed his owners face. She continues baby-talking Krollo as though he were a puppy or cat, and not a potentially lethal tarantula-spider thing, all the way down the fire escape to the alley behind the apartment complex as she started her trek to the condemned hospital.

 

 Weak light streamed through broken windows, barely diminishing the plentiful shadows that filled the hospital to the brim. Old wire bedframes, broken chairs, torn up carpets- the whole thing looked like a place only a stupid white person would step in, especially after midnight. The crumbling, dilapidated walls cast strange silhouettes for spirits to hide behind and you could feel their eyes on you. Judging.

 Shadows fled in terror when a flashlight cut through the gloom like a sword. Riley looked around cautiously, even though the whispers promised no one else was near. Slowly, the technicolor-haired girl made her way down the corridor. 

 “Why am I giving into stereotype and being a stupid white person? Why?” she mutters to herself. The feeling of being watched burdened her shoulders while unseen hands plucked and pulled at her clothing, asking for attention. Easily, she ignored them as she wove her way between broken furniture. Finally, the teen came up on a missing stairwell, halting her progress deeper into the bowels of the hospital. Riley pulled out her rope, which she’s woven herself with spider silk and aura, and climbed down into the oceanic black below.

 Technically, Riley didn’t need a flashlight to navigate the inky hospital basement halls, though there were next to no windows to allow in natural light and it was darker than pitch. Quiet voices whispered in her mind as to which ways to go, but she just liked taking in the sights, eerie as they were. The girl pauses momentarily to light up a smoke to help quell her nerves before continuing on. She was getting so close with her experiments.

 Upon entering her little laboratory, bastardized as it was, Riley lit the candles scattered throughout the crammed room. She carefully laid out her tools on a rolling table, including a scalpel, sewing needle, spider silk thread, scissors, knitting needles, and hand-made yarn (also made of spider silk). Also in her doctors’ kit was a headlamp that was brighter than her flashlight, a surgical mask, apron, and rubber gloves that she promptly put on. After double checking the restraints, she gently pats her… patient… awake.

 “Hey, wake up. We gotta get to work.” His eyes fly open and he struggled against the leather straps, muffled crying escaping from behind his gag. Riley sighs and puts out her cigarette.

 “How long have we been doing this? A week? You should know the rules by now- no struggling or else you get no food.”

 The guy stopped struggling and even quieted down.

 “That’s better.” Riley wheels over her old rusty supply cart, eyeing the mostly nude male on the metal table. “So, exciting things have been going on in my life. I actually managed to sleep last night, which is great! I’m the most rested I’ve felt in months, which isn’t saying anything because I’ve stayed up for two weeks with, like, three hours of sleep total.” She takes off his gag, leaving deep red marks on his cheeks and tosses it onto her cart as she giggles to herself. She swirls her scalpel and needle in some alcohol and dries them off on a clean towel.

 “So, normal stuff for tonight. Stitches, skin grafting. If that all goes well, we’re even doing limb reattachments!” She threads her needle and doubles the thread over before knotting off the end. “I’ve made a lot of progress with you, my dude, I knew I’d get it… eventually.” Riley’s mind briefly went back to her other experiments, feeling no remorse for the ones who died under her knife. Without further ado, she cut deeply into his thigh and listened to his screaming. Not even bothering to mop up the blood, Riley neatly stitches up his wound while channeling her aura through the thread.

 He starts giggling, and is full on guffawing by the time the girl was done with her stitches. She watches in interest and victory as the silken threads sink into his skin and the wound closes and heals before her eyes. “Nen ability: In Stitches, a complete and total success.”

 She begins adjusting the operation table so it’s more vertical and puts a straw in her water bottle and holds it up to his lips. “Go on, drink. You’re probs dehydrated.”

 Hesitantly, he takes a few sips before downing almost all of it, and Riley snatches it away from him. “Watch it, asshole.”

 “Why are you doing this to me?” he whispers, haltingly. Sweat poured from his brows as he watched her in fear, cleaning her scalpel and dumping out the used alcohol from the beaker. Riley pauses and looks at him over her glasses.

 “Because you like to diddle little kids; no one will miss you.” She readjusts the table to its previous horizontal positon. “Heck, I’m doing the world a favor by getting rid of you. Besides, my other test subjects died.”

 “A-am I going to die?”

 “Oh yeah, definitely. There’s shock, infection, blood loss- and when I’m done with you, assuming you live, I’m killing you anyway.” The girl watched terror and helplessness spread across the pedophiles face as a thrill went up her spine. She had complete control over this man, whether he lived or died, and it was absolutely _intoxicating_. Suddenly, a thought struck her and she wondered why she’s never thought of it before. Riley begins adjusting the table again, this time with her prisoners’ feet toward the sky.

 “If I make all the blood rush to your head, you’re less likely to die from blood loss for this next bit. The idea comes from a medieval torture method where the dude is hung upside down by his feet and is thereafter sawed in half. They don’t die immediately because all the bloods in their head and not anywhere else.”

 Once again, she swirls her scalpel in alcohol and starts muttering to herself, as she was prone to do when doing something complex. “Ok first, take off a chunk of skin…” A centimeter deep and about as big as her palm, it slaps wetly onto the floor, leaving a gory hole in the mans’ thigh. She ignores the struggled screaming and begins to connect her aura with his as she starts her first row on her knitting needles. “Now focus on the aura surrounding the wound and entwine it with yours and the yarn…”

 Her needles flash dimly in her hands, clicking rapidly together. Riley’s aura lit her face in a gentle silver-blue glow, emphasizing dark eyes and making her look like Doctor Death.

 In a way, she was.

 The graft was finished, and there was only the slightest hint of an ovular scar. She smiles in satisfaction and picks up a bone saw. She’d found it in this room, rusted and dull, but under her tender care, light once again bounced dangerously off its edges. “Leg? Calf? Foot?” Riley asks to the open air, tapping along the leg with each word. She tilts her head. “Well, its’ just a refresher really, so I don’t need to chop off a lot… A toe will do.” Swiftly, she removes his left big toe, performing In Stitches flawlessly.

 “Okay, wiggle your toes for me.” She watches them fidget and she claps her hands. “As Meray would say, sweg. Alright, you’re all done.” She adjusts the table one last time to its horizontal position, a pang of accomplishment muddled with some other emotion. Sadness? Riley shakes her head, sadness doesn’t make sense, so she decides not to dwell on it. Methodically, she packs her things away and throws her gloves and mask into a corner of the room to join their brethren in a heap. Just as the brown-eyed teen began looking for her pet, who seemed to have scuttled off somewhere during her practice, two hands pushed her into the rusty cart.

 Of course she hadn’t noticed his struggling begin anew. Of course the restraints decided to come loose. Of course she hadn’t heard his footsteps, unsteady, come up behind her. And, _of course_ , the scalpel decided to land blade down in her _fucking arm._

 “Shitty son of a bitch cocksucker-“Riley yanks it out of her arm and thumps after the escapee, still swearing up a storm. He had grabbed her flashlight, which only made following him easier (he kept bumping into everything, despite having light), and was currently making his way towards the rope.

  _‘What the fuck, how the hell is he able to climb that fucking thing, Jesus Christ-‘_

 Hand over hand, Riley pulled herself up after the pedophile as fast as she could and sprinted after him again. She was growling, blood pumping, eyes narrowed, gaining on him- she tripped. _Of fucking course._ Mermaid hair fanning out over her face, palms skinned, she pushed herself back up and let out a wordless shriek, blood chilling and thirsty, scarier than any of the thoughts running through her head could ever be if spoken aloud.

 The dead were screaming, children wanting help, wanting revenge, unsatisfied that she had dare let their tormentor escape, her previous victims cheering for the man running. They, too, wanted justice for their deaths. However, the children were louder, they guided her down twisting hallways and over rotting walls, and when she saw him, she pounced.

 Long nails filed into points scored down his back, turning flesh to ribbons. She rammed his head into the ground once, twice, thrice before stepping off of him. An old metal pipe was exposed and she tore it from the wall, blood slickening it in her shaking hands. She gave in to the red, and the children yelled their approval.

 

 Meray was torn from her word search by the timer going off. With a sigh, she stands up from the living room couch and pours the simmering water into a teapot. She sits back down with her milky tea, staring unseeingly at the page in front of her before shifting her gaze out the window. The moon was making her ascent in the sky, light bleaching the color from everything below, and it was honestly very beautiful.

 However, she couldn’t appreciate the view at the moment.

 Something bad was going to happen tonight, tickling her gut with worry. Pale eyes look towards the edge of town, in the direction her friend often disappeared to.

 Quietly, Meray sent up a prayer that Riley would return alright.

 

 Riley came to awhile later, chest heaving. She was standing over a bloody pulp of a body- the man wasn’t even recognizable anymore- but it took her a second to process all that had happened. Heavy iron slipped from her hands as she studied the corpse in front of her.

 “… Did I seriously dissociate during _all_ of that?” the teen crouched down, revealing the garters holding up her fishnet stockings. (Was it practical? No, but it made her feel pretty.) A long, plump-ish finger reached out and poked the body. Hysterical giggles ripped from her throat as she continued prodding the body in front of her. She felt strangely… empty, yet full? Riley decided not to explore these feelings as she stands up, kicking her legs up high behind her to pop her pelvic bones.

 “Time to dispose of you, I guess…” She grabs a limb that looked like it probably _wouldn’t_ tear off with the strain of being dragged and begins to walk off the way she came.

 “Geronimo-o-o-o-o-o,” she cackles, fucking hurling the corpse down the hole before following after it (of course, however, she was using her rope). She cackles again at the sound of wet meat and bones hitting the ground, once again grabbing it by the… whatever and dragging it off into the darkness. She reaches a room, takes a deep breath and holds it before opening the door. The buzzing of flies and squeaking of rats hits her ears, the stench of decay practically visible even now. 

With some effort, she hurls the body into the room and slams the door shut once again, muffling the sounds and scents that assaulted the senses. With even steps, Riley finds her way back to the old operation room and finds that majority of the candles have burnt out. She considers taking all the candles with her but shrugs the thought away- they were mostly dead anyways. She set the fallen cart upright and stuffs all her supplies into her backpack. Looking around the room, the girl fails to catch sight of Krollo.

 “Darling?” she calls out quietly, checking shadows and piles of garbage for her wayward pet. “Where’s my darling dove? My sweet little killer?” But there was no familiar skitter from the darkness. “Krollo?” Panic was rising in her chest like a wave. “Krollo?!”

 Krollo was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, finally getting this out lmao. Sorry for the long wait y'all.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to something wonderfully self-indulgent. I hope you enjoy lmao


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